Resolutions

Hello everyone! My name is Jamie Magee and I am the author of the YA Insight Series. I think every writer has a story (that becomes shorter and shorter) of how or why they began writing the novel they are currently promoting. Are you ready for the short version of my story? Ok, here ya go ---> It was New Year’s Resolution. From that statement I’m sure the thought crossed your mind that I had always dreamed of writing a novel or perhaps I had ideas lingering for months on how to create one and the New Year’s resolution was just a goal I set to accomplish this , but that assumption could not be more wrong.

Let me explain. The New Year’s Resolution was not thought over for days and days in fact in came to me as I was watching the ball drop in New York from my couch. There is something about the last moments of waning year and promise of new one that allows you to let yourself see your life in a new light. In that moment I wasn’t thinking about how I needed to exercise more or change my diet or even how to be more organized. I was thinking about where I was in my life. You see I was at the end of a ‘five year plan’ everything on my list was done and part of me was sad that I didn’t make my goals more challenging and the other was celebrating, but the one question on my mind is where do I go from here?

My entire life I had been a contestant daydreamer –and believe it or not, I thought this was a ‘bad’ habit so I never really let on that I had this problem. The only way that you would really pick up on this was if you pulled me into one those ‘deep’ let’s talk about the unknown conversations. Like always, the night I was watching the ball drop a little daydream was dancing in the back of my mind. I can’t really explain why I picked this daydream to write about or why at the time I was thinking about these imaginary people. All I can do is tell you that I am grateful for taking a leap of faith and trusting myself to step out of a ‘five year plan’ and just go with the flow of life.

After giving myself this random goal (and not really thinking that I would attempt it) I decided that if I was going to do this that I would not hold back. That within the word document I was writing I would not worry what others might think – if my story was to sweet, to dark, to weird, ordinary , extraordinary – I was just going to write.

With that freedom in place, the things I loved to daydream about came to life. The first was soul- mates; love is fun to daydream about isn’t it? Even If you are already in love it’s fun to watch others find what you are experiencing. The second was the Zodiac. This science has always baffled and intrigued me, and writing this novel gave me reason to explore it deeper. Past lives was also weaved into this story – this idea came from that feeling of déjà vu that I have felt in the past – which some might argue could be dreams forecasting the future so, for fun I added dreams into my plot line as well.

Those are just of few of the elements that are weaved into this series that is seen through the eyes of Willow Haywood, an eighteen year old girl who can feel the emotions of every soul around her. A girl that shares vivid dreams with a soul from another dimension. An artist’s that captures the images that appear before her and beg her to ease their pain. A girl that is determined to put the lives of her family and friends before hers. By far Willow Haywood has been one of the most intriguing characters for me to write – then again I may be bias ….she was the first character I ever listened to.

So, is there a New Year’s Resolution that had changed your life? Are you one of those people who stick to a plan or do you let life lead you to your dreams?